Dont Let Bad Poker Ruin Your Life

Poker Psychology

Be courageous

Courage is a must-have characteristic. Courage means: everything you’ve put in the pot belongs to the pot. It’s not yours. Forget about that money. But never dare to make a bit bet if you feel that it’s the best action at that time. But if you have already put much money in the pot and now you see that it’s impossible to win… then don’t hesitate to fold. Courage means that though you can’t see the profit immediately, you can still take risks.

Control your emotions

Poker demands full concentration. While on the table, you are to think only about poker. Also if losing upsets you, leave the table - go and play something else (bowling, darts, etc.).

Empathize

A good player is not a self-centered player. When a poker pro walks into a poker room, he always empathizes with his opponents. He tries to think what they think and understand the decisions they make and why they make them. Knowing the answer to these questions is the first step, manipulating the answers is the second and more important step. A poker pro manipulates the opponents by slowplaying, fastplaying, and bluffing in order to throw them off.

Think a “Step Ahead”

Here, psychology refers to getting into your opponents' heads, analyzing how they think, figuring out what they think you think, and even determining what they think you think they think. Thinking about what your opponent has will improve your betting and calling strategy. If an opponent is sure you will call his bet, he is not bluffing. If he thinks you will fold, he may be bluffing. If an opponent thinks you have a strong hand, you may be able to bluff. If he thinks you are weak, you can't.

You can occasionally make a bad play for psychological effect-to create an impression for the future." Thinking ahead is tough to learn but not impossible.

Good poker players know that psychology is much, much, much more important in a nolimit game than in a limit one. Limit games often turn into math battles, while no-limit games carry a strong psychology component.